Chasing the Sun
by VampiresandChocolate
Summary: ALL HUMAN. Historical Fiction. Bella, Alice, and Rosalie are orphans about to become adults.  Will they take the chance offered them by a handsome stranger and go west to seek their future?
1. Prologue

So the start of another fan fic so you know the drill...

Disclaimer: (are you kidding me?) I don't own any of this. If I did what I write would be published and I would be making money off of it. Thank You very much.

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**Chasing the Sun**  
**Prologue**  
**Dreams and Destiny**

As I stared out across the open land, I thought about how far I had come in my relatively short life... the differences between the life I was born to and the one I lead now. What I thought the outcome of my life would be through all those lives.

Being born a rich, nobleman's daughter betrothed before the age of ten. I had every material thing I could possibly need, or ever would need. I had a good friend, who was my betrothed. All that high society could offer was mine for the taking. All the knowledge my thirsty young mind could want, provided by the extensive library and endless tutors at my disposal.

Then my life as a poor orphan, unknown, about to be turned out into a cold and cruel world with nothing but a ragged fourth hand dress and shoes with holes in the bottom. The best I could hope for in that life was to secure a position in a factory and a mat in a relatively clean boarding house, with the daily prayer that I wouldn't fall ill and end up on the streets. This would inevitably would happen, we all know this. That path led to a fork where one choice was death and the other the destiny of all the desperate girls out there.

This final outcome isn't what I ever even dreamed of in either life. It was something completely out of my consideration, but had I known about it. About the freedom to venture west and see what my future could hold. The freedom to try new things, meet a different kind of people. To learn, to teach, to learn about community and real family about true love. To realize that in that simple, hardworking life I would make an impact that would help change the world.

Yes, I still missed some of the aspects of my wealthy life that was so harshly stolen from me. Mostly my endless supply of books. However I wouldn't change a moment of it. The hardship I went through, the test of the dread of what would come, prepared me for what was my true destiny. In my early life I wouldn't have had the most valuable treasures a person could have, ones I would willingly sell my soul for to keep safe.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:I own nothing of this. Just the skewed mixture of Twilight Characters in a Human setting in a historical fiction...right.

**Chasing the Sun**  
**Chapter One**

"Oh Papa!" I exclaimed, jumping up and down as he presented me with a new riding habit. It was in tones of blue, from the rich sapphire of the velvet to the true blue of the satin, even the sky blue riding gloves to keep the damage on my hands while riding at a minimum. A lady always had smooth, white hands. It was all quite excessive for a ten year old, but probably why it was sent to me. Edward, son of a neighboring Duke was my betrothed as well as my childhood friend even if he was five years my senior.

"Bella are you with us?" Alice was waving her hand in front of my face.

"Yes, yes. I'm sorry, Alice," I lifted the dish I was washing into the rinse bucket and then handed it to her to dry. As I did, the red and callosed skin of my once pristine hands caught my eye. 'A lady always has white hands,' floated though my mind once more. I flinched. In a few days the best I would be able to hope for would be a position at a factory and a spot on the floor at a semi-clean boarding house.

"Bella, things are going to turn around, I know they are," she said fervently.

I shook my head, she'd been saying the same thing for a year told us dreams she had of us, the three of us happy and well dressed. Not up to my previous standards, but better than the fourth hand rags we did our best to patch together. It was just a couple weeks until we were declared adults and turned out to the wolves.

Rosalie sighed as she mopped the floor, "Alice, give it a rest and let us resign ourselves to what we have to face,"

Alice and Rosalie, my two best friends. Friends I wouldn't have even met let alone been allowed to associate with had I actually met them. Alice, child of the lower class... what we would be upon leaving this orphanage if we were lucky. Father and mother both factory workers, that is until the factory burned down with them inside. The infant Alice was found the next day screaming her lungs out from her cradle by a neighbor. Rosalie was the child of a banker, her mother died moments after her birth (as had mine) and her father passed due to a heart affliction when she was nine. I didn't mind being friends with these girls, nor would I have minded if I were home in England. But as circumstances were, my father got in a fight in a gentleman's club while we were touring America. He had all of the money for the trip on him, which of course was taken from the men who beat him to death in that fight. There were no papers as to my identity or his in our rooms at the hotel, nor did my title mean anything to the police who eventually dumped me at this orphanage in Chicago.

Alice opened her mouth to argue, but didn't get a chance as we heard the matron of the orphanage say, "and this is the kitchen. The girls I was speaking of are cleaning up from lunch,"

A moment later she entered the room followed by a very handsome blond man. We turned, drying our hands, to stand beside our work.

"This is Alice, Bella, and Rosalie," she said and we each curtsied in turn. Not in the clumsy way that all lower class maids did, but properly as I had been taught since I could walk and had taught my friends. We were probably the orphans with the highest manners that there ever were.

"Girls," She continued, "This is Brother Cullen,"

Again we curtsied, "Pleasure to meet you sir," we all said softly but very clearly. I am sure the other two were as confused as I was. Who was interested in adopting girls who were moments from becoming legal adults. Well, there were some men who would be interested, but a minister would not be looking for that reason.

"Brother Cullen would like to interview you three for... well it's not specifically a position," the matron looked a bit flustered.

"It is not so much an interview as an offer, I trust your judgment," he smiled.

"Please, have a seat," she motioned to the table in the kitchen. The three of us moved automatically to fetch the tea things and in a few moments she was motioning for us to sit as well.

I poured the tea as I had been taught as a child. Small luxury, one I wouldn't have much past today. It was rare occasions that I tasted tea, when it was like life's blood when I was a child.

"I come from a place, where we are in need of a very specific type of young lady," he began. "Mrs. Brooke has told me of you three, I have read some of your compositions you have written for class as well. You seem to be exactly what we need,"

"I'm sorry, sir, but what would that be?" Rosalie asked.

"Well mannered, strong, and intelligent women," he smiled kindly, "with strong spirits."

We looked further confused, I'm sure, so he continued. "I currently work in the west, in one of hundreds of small towns. These towns are full of men, but there are few to no women. Now, the men aren't exactly keen on the idea of mail order brides that have become a trend recently besides the fact there is work for independent minded young women. I won't tell you that it is easy, but from what I have heard of you three you wouldn't take an easy life..."

I couldn't help but think, 'Oh, but I would. I would go back to the life I had in a minute. I hadn't seen him in seven years, and his father had surely married him off to some other eligible girl ages ago, but I missed my old friend. I missed the library, the riding horses, high tea...'

But he was still speaking, "You will not be forced, nor expected to make a match. I am most against marrying for reasons outside of love, ands will refuse to perform the ceremony if I believe someone is unwilling. All I ask is in a few days, when the state declares you adults, for you to come west to my home with my wife and I and make a life there as opposed to trying to forge a way here,"

As much as I wanted my former life, I knew none of it was left. Even if I believed the estate was still to be possessed by my family, I had no way to prove my name. All I had left from that life was the betrothal ring I had managed to smuggle into this new life, too small for my finger now I wore it on a crude piece of twine around my neck. A reminder of sorts, of what I'm not certain. What I was certain of was there wasn't a life left for me there, nor was there a life here for me. Suddenly I had the irresistible urge to go west, far away from both places that held no future for me.

"I will go," I said immediately. I am not sure what the other two were thinking, but they spoke the same thing at the same time I did. Rosalie looked apprehensive, Alice looked excited.

"Good," he smiled. "I will be by tomorrow, all three of you will need sturdy boots and we will purchase those tomorrow. Some of the local churches were kind enough to take up a collection of some fabrics and dresses,"

"As soon as we are done speaking I will have the younger girls finish up in here. You may go sort through the items and prepare them for your journey," Mrs. Brooke added, "They are in the boxes in the sewing room, use any of the supplies we have to make yourselves ready,"

"We will depart in one week," He said, standing. "I apologize, but as this is a long trip I have much business for both the church and the town while I am here..."

Mrs. Brooke ushered him out of the room. We listened to them go walk the hallway and go up the stairs. When the door to the stairs closed Rosalie let out a long breath, "What have we gotten ourselves into?" she asked.

"I told you!" Alice sang.

"This very well could be out of the frying pan and into the fire, you know," Rosalie asked.

Alice shook her head, "I've seen this for ages. Now, lets go see about these boxes..."

We walked down the basement hallway to the sewing room. It was a large room with lots of tables for cutting fabric and the walls were lined with shelves and bins of sewing supplies. This was part of how the orphanage supported us. Between church donations and the ready-made clothes we sold, and some mending. We pieced quilts out of scraps too small for any other purpose and embroidered monograms onto handkerchiefs.

The boxes were actually three traveling trunks. On top of each was a valise, obviously used but still in very sturdy condition. When we opened them, we found a Bible and a journal and several pencils, these were all obviously new. There was also a used, somewhat battered book each. Rosalie had "Le Morte D' Arthur", Alice had a collection of Shakespeare, I had a book containing the Iliad and the Oddessy. Also knitting needles, a packet of each sewing and embroidery needles, a small embroidery hoop, and a thimble.

Inside the trunks were a trove of clothing and fabric that neither Rosalie nor I thought we would see again in this lifetime. She may not have had the ridiculous amount of clothing I had, but still more than we had in a very long time. The dresses inside may have been second hand, but they weren't the fraying and more patch than dress fourth hand we were wearing currently. Soft woolen winter dresses, two calico work dresses, a light linen traveling suit that would serve for a Sunday dress as well, a thick coat, soft hoods and mittens, and three pair of stockings. Then there were the reminder of our age the corset and hairpins. Under all of this was a length of calico, a pretty pink striped fabric, and yards of creamy white linen.

We wasted no time, Alice was cutting into the lengths of white linen to turn it into the night gowns, petticoats, and bloomers all three of us desperately needed. Rosalie was pulling my corset strings tight for the first time, then pinning the traveling suit to fit me. We worked far into the night, Mrs. Brooke came in after the younger girls were settled for the night to help with the sewing and insist we each eat at least a slice of bread and butter and a glass of milk.

By the time we fell into our beds that night we each had one petticoat each and our traveling dresses were tailored to fit us, so that when we went out tomorrow to purchase the boots we would look decent.

I would love to say we easily dressed ourselves in the morning, but that was not what happened. We learned that it is all but impossible to lace your own corset, and that hairpins easily slip out just when you don't want them to. However when Brother Cullen was shown into the parlor we were each dressed as a young lady rather than as a girl. We had even found a pair of gloves each to match the dresses in the trunks.

We walked through the streets towards a stretch of shops, all the while Brother Cullen was asking us various questions. Our favorite school subject, songs we knew, and so forth.

"Ah, here we go," he said, leading us into a milliner's shop.

"Good morning," the lady smiled, "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I need a hat each for these lovely young ladies," he smiled, "To match the dresses they are wearing,"

"But, sir," I stammered.

"Shh... I told Esme I would bring three young ladies back, young ladies should be somewhat well dressed," he answered.

The lady bustled around the store picking up hats, eying us, shaking her head and going to another one. Finally she settled on one for each of us, and taught us how to pin them on.

After our trip to the cobbler we made our way back to the orphanage, saying goodbye and thank you we then hurriedly changed into our old clothes and returned to the sewing room.

Over the next several days we turned all of the linen into night gowns, under things, and handkerchiefs. The pretty pink striped was made into aprons. The only fabric left was the lengths of calico that we packed in the bottom of the trunks for later use. The morning of the day before we left we were embroidering our monograms onto one handkerchief each, Mrs. Brookes was rummaging through the bins in the room and by the time lunch time came she had assembled a few spools of thread and some embroidery wool and silk each as well as a small pile of scraps each to start us on a quilt. After dinner, when we were packing our new belongings she presented each of us with small sachets to scatter through our trunks as well as one to slip into our pockets. She gave Rosalie some rose ones, Alice's were cherry blossoms, and mine was lavender.

We set our hair to curl on rags and went to sleep early. The next day at noon found us standing on the train platform.

"Are you ready for this?" Rosalie asked us.

"Absolutely!" Alice chirped.

"We have nothing for us here, our future is to follow the sun," I told her.

The whistle sounded and Brother Cullen helped each of us onto the train.


End file.
